Simple Saturday

When I was working, I always knew what the day was.  I worked shifts, they were written in my diary and I knew what was happening on any given day.  Now I'm at home, one day seems to blend into the next.  There is nothing fixed on any one day.  Consequently I forget what the day is and I have to ask N if he knows.  I do know when the weekend arrives, though, because the traffic on the road outside is far less - not so many people are at work and the schools are closed for the weekend.  So this morning, I knew it was Saturday because the road was so quiet.  This sort of reflection makes me realise just how structured working life is, and yet again I am thankful that we were in a position to both leave work when we did and work for ourselves in our home, living a slow and simple lifestyle.

This morning I made bread rolls.  I used a different dried yeast to the one I have used previously; this one needed to be activated in warm water and sugar . . . 

The yeast, all frothed up

The dough was a pleasure to knead; soft and elastic

I used a malted flour from Calbourne Water Mill, and it has produced the most delicious soft rolls (and very tasty with home made damson jam).  I know I can buy bread rolls at the supermarket, and from time to time we do, but the ones I bake from scratch are tasty and substantial, not full of air and preservatives like shop-bought ones.

We made the most of a dry day and continued sieving soil into the new beds.  It was quiet outside, and we made good progress, chatting about the plans for the garden next year and what we would like to plant.  Even though we are busy pottering away, it always surprises us that we often have company of the feathered kind - we seem to have acquired a robin as a garden companion.

He was on the top of the washing line, a matter of a few feet away from us, watching us intently.  There is something quite delightful about robins and we are very pleased this one has chosen to keep an eye on our garden for us.  

The baby starlings that fledged earlier in the year have all grown into their speckled adult plumage.  There's about 7 or 8 of them altogether, and they still feed in our neighbour's garden every day; there's always a bit of a commotion when they all try to fit in the bird-bath!  They are nothing if not entertaining.  And we have a new bird for the list - a jay, with it's distinctive pink colouring and blue flash on the wings.

This afternoon, N and I watched a pair of buzzards circling high in the sky.  Too far for a photo, but it was lovely watching them through binoculars; we could see clearly the slight upward turn to the wing tips which is characteristic of those birds of prey.

This is another of N's recent creations.  We were given some old storage boxes destined for the rubbish skip, and by adding a wooden front and roof, N has made a bird box for the side of the shed.  We have no idea if it will prove to be a suitable avian 'des res', but we will keep our fingers crossed.  I'm quite pleased with the rather artistic spider's web in the photo!

These are the lavender cuttings I took earlier this week.  So far they look OK, at least they haven't wilted or dropped their leaves.  When I have taken cuttings previously, I've dipped the cut end in hormone-rooting gel, but I had a feeling when I looked at it that the pot of gel was past it's best, so these cuttings are having to go it alone, as far as rooting is concerned.  I shall be interested to see it they take or not - I'm hoping so as the mother plant is a bit leggy now and I would like to replace it with fresh plants.

I shall have my 'screen-free' day on Monday this week, not tomorrow, so I shall be back, hopefully, tomorrow evening, with tales of football-supporting grandparents - yes indeed, it's the under-9s Sunday league :)  It had better not rain.